Kermit Gosnell and the Murder of Baby Boy A

“This baby is big enough to walk me to the bus stop.”—Kermit Gosnell moments before severing the spinal cord of a thirty-week infant.

Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer is a compelling movie for students of social history, and for those who are concerned about America’s insatiable appetite for the slaughter of the unborn. Some major highlights of the film can be noted.

Sensitivity. The subject of abortion is an emotional issue for many reasons. When the result of an actual abortion is visible for all to see, the subject can be even more emotional, and traumatizing. Gosnell Movie presents the horrors of an abortion without gratuitous images. The movie is rated PG13.

Honesty. By using the actual court transcript, the makers of the Gosnell movie tell the story of Philadelphian physician Kermit Barron Gosnell (b. February 9, 1941) who operated what was called the Women’s Medical Society in the midst of filthy conditions, Gosnell performed his murderous work, not in secret, but in the open. He could do this because the government refused to inspect his clinic for political reasons. Because he had freedom, and a license to kill, Gosnell grew bolder and became a prolific prescriber of OxyContin.

Legal Charges. In 2011, Gosnell and various co-defendant employees were charged with eight counts of murder, 24 felony counts of performing illegal abortions beyond the state of Pennsylvania’s 24-week time limit, and 227 misdemeanor counts of violating the 24-hour informed consent law. The murder charges related to an adult patient, Karnamaya Mongar, who died following an abortion procedure, and seven newborns said to have been killed by having their spinal cords severed with scissors after being born alive during attempted abortions (Wikipedia). One of the infants was named in court Baby Boy A. He was such a lovely baby that a clinic worker took a picture of him on her cell phone. She wanted someone, somewhere, to know Baby Boy A had been on earth for a brief period of time before Gosnell cut his spinal cord with scissors and ended his life.

The Media Cover-up. Initially, the prosecution team thought public interest would turn the court proceedings into a media circus. They were shocked that the seats in the courtroom reserved for the press remained empty, until the lack of news coverage of such a major event became a scandal in itself. Eventually, the media did cover the trial with predicable Liberal Biases.

Two Irrationalities. Two irrational concepts were articulated throughout the trial of Gosnell. First, the irrational notion was set forth that the case against Kermit Gosnell was not about abortion. This delusional posture was consistently maintained despite the fact that Gosnell was convicted of 21 felony counts of illegal late term abortions, and 211 counts of violating the 24 hour informed consent law. Gosnell had performed abortions on children as young as 14. Pennsylvania regulators had overlooked repeated concerns brought to their attention, including lack of trained staff, “barbaric” conditions, and a high level of illegal late-term abortions (Dale, Maryclare; Walters, Patrick (Jan 19, 2011). “DA: Pa. Abortion Doctor Killed 7 Babies With Scissors”. AP. Archived from the original on 2011-02-21). Of course the trial of Gosnell was about abortion, and for any judge, prosecutor, jury member, or media outlet to suggest otherwise, then or now, is foolish and illogical.

The second irrational moment in the trial came when a well-dressed professional female doctor took the stand in defense of sanitized, safe, and legal abortions. The idea was to contrast the bloody work of Kermit Gosnell with the “good” work of such diabolical organizations as Planned Parenthood, where the same procedures Gosnell used were being performed, but in a more “humane” way, and in a cleaner environment. Still, the truth of the moment became clear. No matter the personnel, a beating heart is stopped. A long needle is inserted into the baby to make sure the baby is dead prior to evacuation from the womb. If the baby is large enough, the brain is sucked out to collapse the skull thereby allowing evacuation. (“Evacuation,” what a nice neutralizing and unemotional term that is. It is equivalent to the language the Nazis used when they told Polish Jews about being “relocated” to a wonderful place called Auschwitz.) But it was insane for the “good” doctor, all prim and proper, to testify that what Gosnell did to his victims was different from what she had done more than 30,000 times in a clean, sanitized, and more efficient manner.

The Disconnect. The verdict passed upon Kermit Gosnell surprised him. By his own testimony, he had no respect for abortion laws. He was serving the women in his community for a greater cause. Gosnell said he treated each abortion patient like the woman was his own daughter. The Grand Jury charged Gosnell with corrupting the morals of a minor, by hiring a 15-year-old daughter as a staff member, who was “required to work 50-hour weeks, starting after school until past midnight, during which she was exposed to the full horrors of Gosnell’s practice”. Mark Hemingway notes one horrifying detail that does make its way straight into the movie.“While Gosnell’s home was being searched, the doctor sat down at the piano and played Chopin while the cops were busy uncovering jars full of baby parts and venturing into a basement so flea-infested they had to don hazmat suits” (Gosnell: When the Truth is More Gruesome than Fiction, October 15, 2018). There is a tremendous disconnect between right and wrong, good and evil, life and death, law and lawlessness, truth and falsehood, that possesses Gosnell, and all abortionist.

A Misnomer. The film is titled, Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer. Part of the film’s title rightfully belongs to Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood remains the world’s biggest serial killer. Gosnell is now in jail, but his legacy, his life’s work, his passion for slaughter, his ideology of performing a community service for women in the name of a greater good, continues. Gosnell: The Movie is designed to help change hearts and minds, while exposing the reality of a dark stain on America’s collective soul. I pray the Lord will use this film starring veteran actors Dean Cain, Sarah Jane Morris, Earl Billings, and Janine Turner, and director Nick Searcy, to touch the conscience of many. If this happens, more babies, unlike Baby Boy A, will live.

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Reflection

Missional living is a radical concept in Christianity that embraces the mindset, behaviors, posture, and practices of a missionary in order to engage the community around us with the good news of the gospel message. This concept stands in contrast to the concept of a select group of professional missionaries, emphasizing the responsibility and duty of every Christian to fulfill the Great Commission given by Jesus Christ as the last command to his followers before he departed this world.